It’s hard to think of one way to describe Andrei Tarkovsky’s stalkerlet alone define the real meaning behind such a mysterious film.
Is it critical of something specific? Is it an allegory that everyone interprets in their own way (and time)? Or maybe it’s something that Tarkovsky was actually trying to convey with his body of work that we’re still trying to figure out? In any case, the real question is: does it really matter what we come up with from a collective perspective? Tarkovsky’s films are not easy to digest these days, but they speak much more about your existence than you might imagine. His films may feel outdated today, but that doesn’t mean they lack an undeniable importance regarding an artist’s ability to speak loudly with a beautiful work of art.
So if you try to explain why it’s number one in Rotten tomatoeslist of the greatest science fiction movies, you almost have to live through the actual movie. Why? What the movie can do to you is very different from what it did over the years to millions of viewers, critics or not. It’s not like the Russian filmmaker made personal films that are now yours. It’s that his philosophical dictionary is universally beautiful and efficient if you just open yourself up to the possibility of diving deep into a movie and being part of a spiritual experience created by one man talented enough to do it with ease. do throughout his oeuvre.
Tarkovsky’s unique and essential way of tackling sci-fi
If you open your browser and Google “best sci-fi movies of all time,” chances are Tarkovsky will show up on every page in the results. Or Solaris or stalker will be there, we can assure you.
Keep in mind that the director’s manners are drastically different from the ones you’d see on those lists. Sci-fi is one of the broadest genres in film and television. It literally gives you infinite scope when designing other worlds, characters and storylines. There are no limits to what filmmakers can do. As positive as this may sound, this freedom can also damage your sight when you go beyond the boundaries of your plot require.
That is exactly what Tarkovsky does very well. Especially in stalker, he does not go for a film that follows genre rules and standards. Neither his scripts nor his visuals are typical of what you can find in sci-fi. In Tarkovsky’s universe, philosophy and its offshoots form the basis of a radical study of the human mind and soul, and how characters perform in worlds that are not real but can be realistic and reflective of all of us.
In stalker, two men follow each other. They have been promised a visit to The Zone by a navigator (or ‘stalker’). The Zone is a site that only exists thanks to legends and stories told by the community of a nation on the verge of self-destruction. A professor and a writer have different agendas that aren’t revealed until a mind-blowing third act that depicts the three men in an impossible place, a room the stalker has taken them to where your desires can come true. The stalker’s awareness is evidence that this may be his first time in a place where the soul is subjected to a sublime experience. Or maybe it’s his first time in this version of his existence. We may never know.
There’s nothing traditionally “sci-fi-sh” in it stalker. There is talk of alien races and remnants, but Tarkovsky doesn’t do this to let audiences enjoy the commercial nature of a genre that is often a window into the alien. He decides to stay on Earth and explore more grounded themes such as existentialism, the limits of faith and religion, and yes, a social circumstance that is a bit reminiscent of a completely different country.
Why the criticism of Stalker doesn’t matter
You will find something different in every review, article, video or book stalker. People will say you’re stupid because you didn’t understand anything the first time, and others will say you’re an idiot because stalker is literal. Don’t pay attention to that. Every experience is supposed to be different, and of course you may not like Tarkovsky’s film. You might like its gorgeous and brooding aesthetic, but if you haven’t caught on, that’s fine.
Perhaps a rewatch could result in a different experience. stalker is one of those movies that you have to see a few times before trying to decide what you like about it and what you don’t. You are entitled to that wonderful realization. A moment of self-awareness where you can turn an uncomfortable or pleasurable experience into an opinion about a movie that represents different things to everyone who watches it. Just don’t deny that stalker is an interesting film to watch, a relentless exploration of what lies deep within you.
Chances are you’re not a film critic. It appears to be a practice on its way to extinction. That 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes was given by critics who were given a chance to reflect on their opinions. But it’s just that. An opinion based on personal views that are no more important than your own.
If there is a gift from Tarkovsky that remains valuable today, it is stalker, a film that showed that everyone is on the same level of knowledge about his enigmatic existence. No one knows more than the other what the film is supposed to mean. Critics stand beside you as you stare at the possible in awe and disbelief best sci-fi movie ever made.
stalker is available to stream on HBO Max.